


Kanej Drabbles

by imaginemotherofdragons



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Also Kaz has a cat now folks, Angst, F/M, I'm Bad At Fluff, Kanej - Freeform, Random snippets and requests from Tumblr I thought I'd put on here too, mostly angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2020-03-04 21:20:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginemotherofdragons/pseuds/imaginemotherofdragons
Summary: Hiya! These are just short lil Kanej drabbles and/or requests from my blog that I thought I'd post here.Huge thanks to my beta-reader @strawberry-mads on Tumblr. She's wonderful and I love her, y'all should go check out her blog and art!My personal blog is @awesome--username and my writing blog is @somanyshipsss.Asks/requests are always open, come scream with me about random shit!





	1. Only In A Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! These are just short lil Kanej drabbles and/or requests from my blog that I thought I'd post here.
> 
> Huge thanks to my beta-reader @strawberry-mads on Tumblr. She's wonderful and I love her, y'all should go check out her blog and art!
> 
> My personal blog is @awesome--username and my writing blog is @somanyshipsss.  
> Asks/requests are always open, come scream with me about random shit!

He moves closer, just a bit. Enough to make her skin prickle with anticipation. Nearly touching. His ungloved hand wraps loosely around her forearm.

Kaz Brekker's gaze threatens to swallow her whole.

“Still looking for that happy ending, Wraith?”

But the words aren't condescending. They're promising. And the rough burn of his voice is almost a purr.

Inej leans into his touch.

His hand moves with slow deliberation. Up to her throat, thumb feathering above her pulse. That barely there smile crosses his lips.

His lips. She can't seem to stop looking at them.  
Imagining what they would feel like. Not just on her neck.

All over.

And then Kaz has her face cupped between his hands.

Oh.

She stands on the tips of her toes and their breath mingles. He smells of coffee, jurda, and the rich dark scent that's purely Kaz.

She had missed that smell.

His eyes gleam, daring her to do…something. So Inej presses her mouth to his. Soft and hesitant, giving him the space to push her away.

But Kaz kisses her back and at first it's gentle and needy, full of insecurity.

Then his fingers are snagged in her hair and Inej can't keep her hands from running over his shoulders. Feeling him, actually feeling him. Fingertips dancing over the taut muscles he keeps hidden beneath all those black suits.

He pulls back slightly. Nips gently, playfully at her bottom lip.

“Inej darling, happy endings only exist in children's stories.”

⁂

She wakes with a start. Alone.

And even the rocking of her cabin can't lull her back to sleep.


	2. Keep It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was based off the prompt "Keep it"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @strawberry-mads for beta-ing!!!
> 
> Come scream with me on Tumblr @awesome--username (personal) and/or @somanyshipsss (writing)

The rain starts off so gently. A damp haze more akin to fog. She doesn't give it a second thought, turning her face into it and enjoying the cool reprieve from an otherwise warm night.

Then the droplets grow larger, heavier, splattering against her face and blurring her vision. Her dark tunic and leggings don’t provide much coverage.

Wylan and Jesper's house is a considerable distance away. Scaling up onto the rooftops and taking one of her shortcuts was out of the question in this kind of weather. Especially when she isn't wearing her climbing shoes.

So Inej straightens up and pushes her way through the storm.

She hasn't made it very far, grumbling to herself about how little she's going to miss the wetness that Ketterdam seems to love, and trying to ignore the violent gusts of wind, when a rough, familiar voice calls to her.

"Wraith?"

She turns on the balls of her feet and spots him. Leaning against the door of an abandoned factory and watching her with a glint of dark amusement.

“Why is my spider drenched?” 

She rolls her eyes and crosses the street to join him in the somewhat dry alcove. 

“Not your spider.”

He chuckles at that but the sound is bittersweet. She nearly regrets saying it. It wasn't even entirely true. She still considers herself part of the Dregs, could still be his spider when necessary.

“It's not going to pass for awhile.” Kaz informs her, propping himself up on his cane and studying the scene before them thoughtfully.

“How do you know?” 

“I have a talent for these things.” 

She ignores that.

“What were you doing out here?” She says instead.

“Don’t ask questions you already know the answers to. You're far too clever for that.”

It's honestly incredible how easily Kaz can infuriate her. With a soft sigh, Inej turns her back on him and prepares to set off.

“Wait.” A pause and then, “I'll walk with you. I need to speak with Jesper anyhow.”

He limps into the torrent of water with the casual ease of someone preparing for a stroll in the park. She stays to his side, behind him slightly, hoping his tall frame will provide some sort of cover. 

They fall into a companionable silence. It should be terrifying, how easy it is. But it isn't. It's something like comfort. 

After a few moments he stops and begins shouldering off his thick black jacket. 

“Here.” 

Inej can't, wouldn't even try to, deny the surprise she feels as Kaz drapes the coat around her. He moves with deliberate care, cautious and ready to retreat should she ask him to. Should he need to.

But he doesn't. Instead his gloved fingertips brush against her shoulders, the tops of her arms. Leaving a tingling burn in their wake. He steps back and surveys her quickly before starting down the street again. 

She flips the collar up and buries her now flushed face down into the soft material. 

“Thank you.” 

He offers a half shrug to that and continues walking, slightly faster then before. The silence returns and she doesn't try to break it. 

The jacket is surprisingly dry. 

It smells of soot and smoke.

As they approach the manor, Inej notes how brightly lit it is. Wylan always made sure to leave the lights on when she was out at night. 

It was a strange feeling, having people take care of these tiny things. And the not so tiny things, she thinks, cheek brushing against the rich fabric of Kaz's coat. It left Inej feeling vaguely off-kilter. As if this was all a happy dream she would soon wake from.

Jesper and Wylan had long since gone to bed, Marilyn, the maid adding wood to the fire, informs them.

But Kaz doesn't seem put out by it.

“Tell Jes to stop by the Slat when he has the time.” 

“It's not urgent then?” She asks curiously.

“Not at all.”

Never one for goodbyes, Kaz gives her a nod and walks out the door.

Inej leans against the bannister for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should go swipe some food from the kitchen before heading up to her room, when she realizes she's still wearing Kaz's jacket. 

She takes it off, ignoring the chill that prickles over her skin when she does so, the irrational sense of loss. Moving silently, Inej slips out the door and after him. He was only just past the front gates, walking slower now that she wasn't with him. His leg must've been troubling him more then he'd let on.

She sidles up to him and offers the bundle of folded fabric. 

Kaz pauses and glances down at it, then back at her. His shark's eyes fill with something dark and torn. He makes no move to grab the coat. 

“Keep it, Inej.”

It hangs there between them. An unspoken, unstarted raw thing. Something that may have been doomed from the start. But still it clung to life, as stubborn and determined as the two people it had ensnared.

Maybe that was why it was hard to turn away. To walk back to the manor and pretend this hadn't happened. Or at least pretend that it meant nothing, the way Kaz was sure to.

“Why?” Because she can't leave without asking, without knowing.  
He doesn't answer, for long enough that Inej thinks he might ignore the question altogether. But he does answer, only the dark fierce thing in his eyes is gone, replaced by cool indifference.

“Ships are cold. And wet. You'll need it more then I will.” 

Kaz Brekker, once more clothed in Dirtyhand's mask, strides away without a backward glance.


	3. Random HC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My random headcanon that Kaz feed Inej's birds while she's away 🤷

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @strawberry-mads for beta-ing, she's the best! Apologies if the formatting is janky on this, I'm still figuring out ao3.
> 
> Come scream with me @awesome--username (personal) and/or @somanyshipsss (writing)

  * Everytime Inej is away on The Wraith, Kaz feeds the crows outside his old office window.
  * At first he doesn't even think of it. Why would he?
  * Then he sees her, after nearly two months at sea, padding up the Slat steps in that silent way of hers.
  * Which isn't out of the ordinary except...
  * She's cradling a bag of cracked corn and two loaves of bread.
  * He follows and watches as she sits in the window seat, handfeeding the jet black scavengers.
  * She murmurs to them.
  * Apologies that she's been gone for so long.
  * Kaz rasps a laugh at that.
  * Inej turns to him and a faint scowl mars her features.
  * "What's so funny?"
  * "You and your pets."
  * "They are not pets."
  * "Are you quite sure about that?"
  * She doesn't deign to respond, returning her attention to the birds.
  * But he saw the way her eyes lit up as she spoke to them.
  * Saints he loves that look.
  * She leaves soon after that.
  * After all there's still plenty of slavers that need to be brought to justice.
  * And maybe that worries him more then he lets on.
  * Inej so far away, Kaz not being able to watch her back or she his.
  * And so he starts feeding the crows.
  * Maybe it's a small way to remind himself that she will always come back.
  * After all, she can't leave her crows all alone, now can she?




	4. Kaz gets a kitten bc why not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what this is. It's been in my drafts for so long, it's short and doesn't have an end but yeah, loosely based on how I found my cat.
> 
> Goblin brain: Kaz+Cat=Cute
> 
> Tumblrs are @awesome--username (personal) and @somanyshipsss (writing) feel free to drop by and say hi!

  * He didn't mean to get a cat.
  * Kaz was returning to the Slat late one night when he came across the pitiful creature.
  * He'd seen plenty of half-starved animals throughout the years. Hadn't lost a night's sleep over them.
  * But it was so _tiny._
  * The black, drenched kitten cowered against the door.
  * It looked up at him with too-large brown eyes. And Kaz felt an odd pang in his chest at the thought of leaving the creature out here alone.
  * So he crouched down in front of it, ignoring the ache in his knee as he did so, and extended a hand.
  * The ungrateful, mangy beast hissed at him. Wet, clumpy fur stood upright in places. Tiny nails swiped against the leather of his gloves.
  * Kaz seized the kitten's scruff firmly and brought the spitting little monster inside.
  * The first few days were actual hell.
  * He hated the cat so very much. He hated himself for that momentary lapse in judgement that made him grab the damned thing.
  * It ran acrossed him while he slept, snatched food from his plate, and mauled his ankles whenever he walked by.
  * Kaz hated the cat.




	5. Anything

 

  * It starts off in the smallest of ways.
  * To anyone else it barely would’ve registered as something _,_ let alone everything _._
  * But it is. Oh Saints, it is.
  * Kaz’s knuckles, sometimes gloved sometimes bare, brushing against hers as they stand shoulder to shoulder. Back to back.
  * Inej steadying him with a hand around his elbow. Always light, always in a way that he can see coming. Just a gentle grip, something to remind him of where he is, who he is. A careful nudge towards what they still have to accomplish, what she needs him for. 
  * It works most of the time. The distant look fades away and Kaz’s shark eyes soften for just the briefest of seconds as he glances down at Inej. Then it’s back to business. 
  * Inej never fully realized how useful Dirtyhands was. 
  * When Kaz embodied his harsher alter ego, impossible things became possible.
  * It was all because of his brilliant mind of course. But when that mind was combined with the utter terror men felt at even a whisper of the name “Dirtyhands,” _anything_ felt achievable. 
  * This time, _anything_ began as a quiet night alone in the peacefulness of Kaz’s office.
  * Him in his chair, aching leg propped up on the desk, shuffling through papers with efficiency and purpose. 
  * Inej cross-legged in the nook between desk and window, head back against the night-chilled glass. 
  * _Anything_ was Kaz, watching her hand as it lay on the desk, then gently setting his own beside it. 
  * An invitation, if there ever was one. 
  * A quick glance at his expression was all she needed to be sure that he was truly alright. He made no further move, giving her this and letting her do what she would with it. A choice, always a choice.
  * _Anything_ was Inej, resting her palm lightly against his, hearing that soft hitch of his breath. Watching as he inhaled deeply and turned his gaze to her. Slowly allowing their fingers to braid together, feeling the strange tingle spread through her as Kaz’s thumb brushed over the pulse point on her wrist.
  * _Anything_ was the two most deadly people in Ketterdam, sitting in the dim light, hands loosely linked like the young lovers they hoped to one day be.
  * And it was true. This _anything_ really might be achievable.




	6. More Random HCs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a tumblr prompt done for @asoftlightrising who wanted kanej headcanons, this is super short but it helped me outta a funk so

  * Inej waking up to her favorite flowers on the desk, randomly and always on days when she feels particularly trapped in the past. Almost as if Kaz can already see the signs warring behind her eyes. It’s not like he pays attention to the shadows there, not like he stumbles when he notices them, trying to find something that will pull her attention away from whatever it is that makes her go so very dark


  * Kanej most definitely plays a game where they see who can get certain pieces of information first. It’s always a toss up too, because as sly and clever as Inej is, a l _ot_ of people owe Kaz favors. (Who are we kidding Inej wins at least 70% of the time, informants be damned, but Kaz puts up a good fight and he gets to see Inej teasingly gloat which is enough of a reward in itself.)


  * Kaz casually strolls along the harbor each day that Inej is at sea. It’s not like he expects to see  _The Wraith s_ uddenly careen into its dock. But he can’t deny that there’s something about the salty tang of the water, the sight of sun-bleached masts, that makes him feel like she isn’t that far away. Like the reality of her laugh, her lips, the curve of her throat, will soon face him again. Until then he’ll tide himself over with memories, despite how starkly they pale in comparison. 




	7. Chapter 7

Just wanted to let you guys know that the rest of the kanej prompts are going to be published in a series titled "Six of Crows prompts"!


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